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Uncharted: Why Golden Abyss Is Better Than UC3

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Games, Lists, Reviews, Uncharted with tags on May 27, 2012 by slateman

I love me some Uncharted. I’ll go as far as to say it’s the best game this generation. It helps that I prefer 3rd person games. But there’s no disputing the level of care the four UC games have been given. The settings, voice acting, stories and gameplay are all polished and pristine.

When Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception came out in November, I was disappointed. It did a lot right, let’s clear the air there. However, when looking at its single-player experience, it was inferior to UC2. That’s not a surprise, really, as UC2 is the aforementioned best game of this generation. There was something more though…something more disappointing than the fact the game was disappointing. It failed to move forward in a lot of ways. It failed to make me care.

So, as I started to play Golden Abyss, I knew we were looking at a side entry into the series. They’re never as good. And, once again, to be clear, it is less grand in several ways.

The visuals are clearly not as fantastic as the third game. The controls are lacking both a second pair of shoulders and the clicking of L3/R3, that’s 4 buttons lost. This makes reloading more cumbersome and you cannot zoom in through most gun scopes. The touch-screen controls are totally unnecessary and add zero to the game’s value. And there are never as many enemies on screen as on the consoles, though the endless hordes towards the end of UC3 was apparently one of the only picking points to its stellar scores.

Spoilers To Come BTW!
With those basics out in the open, it appears (about 3/4 of the way through the game) Golden Abyss is better in almost every other way. The story in 3 may have been large, but like I mentioned, I didn’t care about Marlowe and Talbot. Cutter was a grunt and Chloe and Elena were barely in the game. I was really disappointed in the cast and settings of UC3. Right from the get-go, I felt passionate about Dante. He was slimy and deceitful from the outset and I disliked him greatly. However, you are tied with him, which makes you hate him more. Chase started out just so-so, but as I progressed, I actually cared about her search for her grandfather. The Chase/Nate chemistry is there too, replete with his trademark charm and tongue-in-cheek comments. Then…Sully!!! I really didn’t know he’d be in the game. His appearance is perfect. There is a ton of dialogue between him and Drake, the camaraderie and history is blatant. There are jokes about ‘that time when…’ and Nate picks on Sully’s age. It’s all just like it should be. It has virtually everything UC3 has.

We’re talking about a handheld game that is, through its story and gameplay just as good if not better than the huge-budget console brother! I am totally digging Golden Abyss. It is flawed but IMO not as flawed as UC3 was. It’s exciting and delivers a great story and explosive moments. Where UC3 gave me the ‘been-there, done-that’ feeling, this feels fresh and exciting. You may disagree with one being better than the other, but it’s hard to deny this is one of the biggest handheld adventures ever. I’d, once again, go as far as to say it’s the best portable game I’ve ever played. And I’m not even done yet! And, I’ve already thought about subsequent playthroughs.

I figured I’d share some more pics. I love the screenshot option and these sure are beauts.

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Uncharted: Golden Abyss = Friggin’ Sweet!

Posted in Blog, Games, Reviews, Uncharted with tags on May 22, 2012 by slateman

Golden Abyss!


OK, Golden Abyss is flawed. The controls can be a little shaky. The motion/touch-screen controls are gimmicky and at the outset, it feels like a side story.

With that out of the way, however, we can get into the rest. Now, I’m about 8 chapters in, so I think that’s about 1/3rd. It’s a reasonable time to make some sort of basic ‘conclusions’. Beyond those issues listed above, Golden Abyss is the best handheld title ever. It’s gorgeous. Its voice acting is top-notch. Beyond the voice-overs, the audio is spectacular. It’s fun. It’s Uncharted!!!

The story, which loses its ‘side-story’ feel as time goes on, is pretty cool and very quickly I identified with Nathan again. It helps that they didn’t outsource his voice, as it returns me back to the series I adore so much. The tale of Dante and Chase (pretty generic adventure names at this point) is not bad. I kinda like this Chase chick and Dante is as sleazy as he should be. I don’t trust him and I’m curious about her. Perfect…they’ve pulled me into this tale 100%. I’m overlooking the downsides, because at this point, I haven’t a clue why I’m collecting all this shit. There are treasures and there are pictures (lame) and then these archaeological things and for some reason you have to clean them. Why am I cleaning a pick-axe? Umm, ok, and then there are other puzzles like torn-up sheets of paper and then the rubbings…whatever. They’re gimmicky no doubt, but they’re not painful. The motion controls are horrible. Umm…there’s a reason they were removed after the first Uncharted game.

However, I’m having a blast with this game. Playing with headphones allows me to hear everything in its perfect, high-budget glory. This is not the ‘ting ting’ sound of yesteryear’s handhelds. It’s amazing. The gameplay, while definitely dumbed down from the PS3 outings (no analog click zoom, no swapping shoulders, grenade tossing sucks) is still Uncharted at heart and it’s fun. I’m finding the dialogue with Chase interesting and Drake just mentioned how he needed to show something to Sully. I may have dissed UC3 a bit a few months back, but I love the world and the series. I’ve already thought about subsequent playthroughs to pick up all the stupid crap I missed.

Ultimately, there’s still plenty left. I plan on enjoying it as I go through the game. I’m pretty psyched that it has turned out so well and may report back with final thoughts in a little bit. For now, some cool artwork from the game. I captured these with the Vita itself. I love this system!!! Enjoy!

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Uncharted 3: Six Reasons Why It’s Not NEARLY As Good As UC2

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Games, Lists, Uncharted on March 17, 2012 by slateman

I got Uncharted and beat it in about 8 hours. It was phenomenal. It was precisely what I love about games. So, when I got Uncharted 2, I had high expectations. UC2 stands as one of the best games I’ve ever played.

So, when Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception launched, the anticipation was enormous. It’s hard to follow such a huge game and while the reviews praised UC3 with near-unanimous perfect scores, it wasn’t perfect. In fact, it was inferior to UC2. Why? Well, that’s why I’m writing this now.

SPOILERS!!!

Six Reasons…

1) Elena
Elena’s character and interaction with Drake in the first game was charming, fun and light-hearted. I loved her in that game. She was rough, yet chill, the kind of girl you would want to hang out with. When Chloe was introduced in the second game, it gave the Drake/Elena relationship a new angle. It was still fun and exciting, and I wanted to see the two together at the end. The ending was great. It was fitting, silly and endearing. Perfect.

However, with UC3, their story was barely there. Now, I realize the purpose of the story was to flesh out the Sully/Drake companionship. But it lost the spark that made the first two entries so awesome. Sully is cool and all, but he’s no Elena.

UC2: Elena Rocks

I will say this though, if Naughty Dog did more of the same, they would’ve been criticized for that as well. I realize there’s no winning here. Speaking of…

2) Been There, Done That
I love, love, love games and stories that retell a tale. DoDon Pachi: Dai-Ou-Jou is essentially a remake of DoDon Pachi. GTA4 goes back to where GTA3 started it all. Homage to earlier days is fantastic. I just didn’t feel the magic in UC3. The ending sequence, where the floor is falling apart is the same thing as in UC2. It looks good, but it wasn’t as exciting because I already did the very same thing. Every time Nathan fell and hung on by one arm should’ve been WOW! and I just felt it was *Yawn*, I did this before.

That kinda sucks, because this game was exciting and well-crafted. It just didn’t excite me as much. One of the reasons…?

3) The Locales & The Treasures
The first Uncharted had me in lush environments with a deep, rich history. I was exploring areas that Sir Frances Drake visited, hundreds of years earlier! There was a WWII boat here, merging the old with the new, a strange but enchanting mix. There were green, vivid jungles, curious WWII scenes, a glorious background for a phenomenal story. What was grandiose in the first game was trumped by what may be the perfect game. A blend of jungles (once again), frozen Nepal, incredibly-detailed city streets, the monastery, each diverse and awesome. Both games made me feel I was walking into an ancient land occupied by the modern. Therefore, when I found a new treasure, it felt like it belonged there. The Mandala Thogchag actually sat there for years before I encountered it.

UC1: Such Awesome Locales

So, what’s wrong with #3? Well, the locations are diverse and all superbly detailed and well lit. There’s no question about the visuals. I just found the bar, Columbia and London’s subway system to be modern without that ancient feel. When you get to France, it’s cool, but again, loses the real mysticism. The same goes for the ship graveyard. The best stages are in Syria and the whole desert ending, but even they never quite made me feel like the first two games did. The treasures felt oddly located and out of place. Why was there an Ancient Minerva Pendant on the boat? An Ancient Gold and Coral Bracelet in a graveyard of rusting ships? I loved collecting treasures in the first two games. Now, it was a task. It wasn’t natural.

4) The Story & Cast
As with every sequel, more characters are added to keep the story moving. I usually prefer the originals, Shrek being a good example. The first is classic, quaint; this was before they added 25 characters and gave less and less time to each. UC2 was amazing though. Drake and Elena. Sully and Chloe. Perfect. The supporting cast did just enough and while the bad guy cast wasn’t super deep, Lazarevic and Flynn were fitting. I hated Flynn for betraying Nate (The subtitle Among Thieves explained right at the beginning) and was happy to see Lazarevic die at the end.

UC3? Drake’s Deception? Wait, what precisely WAS the deception again? Marlowe and Talbot were both weak characters for whom I felt completely indifferent. The outro fight with Talbot was so anticlimactic. I didn’t care! Cutter was OK. Chloe was barely there. The ending with Elena as OK but it lacked that sincerity of the second game. It all suffered from a lack of depth and passion.

UC3: Marlowe - Snore...

5) The Saving System
I REALLY hoped they’d fix this by now. I’m going to compare to the excellent Resident Evil 5 here. RE5 had one save game that kept track of which stages you’d beaten, treasures you’d collected, which difficulty you played on, how long it took, etc. Here, we’re stuck saving before we start any level, being forced to save when we leave a level (i.e. if you got the last treasure you’d needed), etc. It is all so cumbersome and totally unnecessary in 2011. It may be a small gripe, but as a gamer who wanted to go back to beat it on crushing, to collect the treasures, to relive the game, it was annoying.

6) All The Extras!!!
I understand that these were removed to keep the integrity of trophies and everything in place, but one of the best parts of the Uncharted series was lost. Level flips, no gravity, weapon select, fast/slow motion, these things really add the the replay value of a game. I may not be as die-hard a gamer as I once was; I have much less time to devote than I used to, but even I recognize the loss here. The single-player skins and movies were all awesome in the second game. I was rather disappointed to find out all this was lost.

What To Do In Uncharted 4

Listen, Uncharted 3 was great. It’s biggest downside was that Uncharted 2 was better. However, in order to make UC4 compare to the second game, it must fix a few things. Obviously the saving system must be addressed. In searching for a new, mythical story, I hope they go back to the mix of old and new as detailed above. While many may disagree, I would love for it to be a completely co-op game. Some of my favorite times with parts 2 and 3 were the co-op levels. Mat and I have sunk many hours into those modes and even they are better in 2 than 3.

And of course, extras should be added (but disable trophies). Since we know there will be an UC4, I do hope they can get back to what made 2 so great. I loved 3 but the entire time I felt it was lacking.

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